WHAT'S HAPPENING
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Stay up-to-speed on all things happening with the Society throughout the year!
“Cape Cod & the Revolutionary War”
New research about Cape Cod and the Revolutionary War
This is an IN-PERSON presentation!
Presented By: Duncan Oliver
Date: Thursday, June 30, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: 1869 Schoolhouse Museum
25 Schoolhouse Road, Eastham, MA
Summary: A group from Yarmouth and Dennis are researching the Cape's part in the Revolutionary War. We've found numerous errors and misstatements and are trying to correct these by looking at primary sources. We are also trying to bring more detail to events which have little written about them
About Duncan Oliver: Duncan Oliver and his wife fell in love with Cape Cod and purchased a condominium at Ocean Edge in 1985. They decided to retire here in 2000. Formerly, he was the principal at Oliver Ames High School in Easton, MA for 21 years. He and his wife presently live in Yarmouth Port (the condominium was too small). He is past president of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth and has co-authored two books with the late Jack Braginton-Smith (owner of Jack’s Outback). He has taught Cape Cod history classes for both the Dennis-Yarmouth and Sandwich adult education, and he has written more than 100 articles about Cape Cod for various Cape publications.
45th Annual Outdoor Antiques Show!
Location: 1869 Schoolhouse Museum
25 Schoolhouse Road, Eastham MA
(across from the National Seashore Visitors Center)
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022
Time: 9:00 am- 3:00 pm
Admission: $5 (free for 18yo and under)
This show is a part of Eastham’s summer traditions, and this is the 45 th consecutive year, no misses! We soldiered through two years of pandemic without missing a beat with the cooperation of Town Health officials and many laborious preparations and precautions.
We have had the same dealers return year after year, new ones replacing retirees, but a very loyal group. A cadre of hardworking volunteers make it all possible. The revenue from the show is an important source of income for the EHS mission.
There will be 23 quality dealers from across the Cape and throughout New England who will present a wide array of 18th, 19th, and early 20th century antiques. Both long-time collectors and new buyers will find American country furniture; garden antiques; pottery; glassware; paintings; quilts; jewelry; books; decorative items and more. The Eastham Historical Society will also be selling treasures from its collection.
The show is a wonderful way to spend the day for both the serious and casual collector and antique buff.
“Cape Cod and the Portland Gale”
Stories of Tragedy and Triumph from the 1898 Disaster
This is an IN-PERSON presentation!
Presented By: Don Wilding
Date: Thursday, July 7, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: 1869 Schoolhouse Museum
25 Schoolhouse Road, Eastham, MA
Summary: Summary: On the night of November 26, 1898, with a killer storm of historic proportions approaching, the steamer Portland set out from Boston. By the following night, the winter hurricane sent the vessel to the depths of Massachusetts Bay off Cape Cod, claiming nearly two hundred lives. On the Cape, a few dozen victims of the Portland disaster washed ashore, while ships piled up in harbors, high tides swept away railroad tracks, and the landscape and beaches were changed forever. Several Cape Cod mariners went to sea and never returned, caught in the gale’s evil clutches. Local author Don Wilding revisits this disaster and the heroic deeds of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the Cape’s citizenry in what came to be known as “The Portland Gale.”
About Don Wilding: Since the start of the millennium, Don Wilding has been telling stories of Cape Cod Outer Beach history through lectures, video, and the written word. Don is the author of three books on Cape Cod history: “Henry Beston’s Cape Cod: How ‘The Outermost House’ Inspired a National Seashore,” "A Brief History of Eastham: On the Outer Beach of Cape Cod" and "Shipwrecks of Cape Cod," was published on May 24, 2021 and is the most recently published book. "Cape Cod and The Portland Gale of 1898" is due to be published in Spring 2023.
Don has worked as a Cape tour guide and is a regular speaker on Cape Cod lore in Massachusetts and across New England. He was an award-winning newspaper editor, writer, and designer in Massachusetts for 36 years, including a recent stint as a contributing history columnist and photographer for Cape newspapers. He has also been an instructor of Cape Cod history courses for the Open University of Wellfleet and Nauset Community Education.
Order Don's new book, Shipwrecks of Cape Cod: Stories of Tragedy & Triumph, from The History Press!
Don Wilding's Cape Cod: Where Land, Sea, & History Meet
Upcoming Events!
The following events will be held on Thursdays at 7pm at the Schoolhouse Museum. Please come join us in-person for these interesting presentations!
Recent Cape History by Mark McGrath on 7/14
The Target Ship SS James Longstreet by Peter Schwind on 7/21
The First Church of Eastham 1645 by Tom Ryan on 8/4
Three Pilgrims Lived Here by Patty Donohoe on 8/11
My Travels Around Eastham by Amy Whorf McGuiggan on TBA
History of Social Justice on Cape Cod by Peggy Jablonski on 9/8
Native Peoples of Nauset- walk with Marcus Hendricks on 9/10
Please note, our presentations are subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control.
If you have suggestions for programs you would like to see or need further information, please contact us at easthamhistorical@verizon.net - or consider becoming a member of our Events Committee.
